Just how long will it take me to learn to count? I already know basic strategy for 2D and multiple decks. I know the Ace/10 front count. While I'm learning to count, should I flat bet? Should I play CSM's while I am learning to count?

Just how long will it take me to learn to count? I already know basic strategy for 2D and multiple decks. I know the Ace/10 front count. While I'm learning to count, should I flat bet? Should I play CSM's while I am learning to count?

It can take from 6 weeks to 6 years to learn. It depends on how serious you are.

First step is to choose your system. Second step is to practice. Third step is to practice some more. CVBJ is a perfect tool as it will watch your every move and tell you when you bet wrong, or play wrong, and you can even "peek" at the count from time to time to see if your mental count is correct.

But it is all about practice, the more realistic the better. By the time you can play CVBJ at a fast pace, while watching a TV show and carrying on a conversation with your wife or kids, you will be ready to play in a casino for small stakes to get started.

No matter how much you practice on simulators,I'd suggest your first couple of times playing live in a casino,you simply flat bet.Count the cards,work out what you'd be betting by the count,but flat bet.A few trips flat betting won't kill your bankroll and is much better than finding out you screwed up the count with a max bet out.Then graduate to a 1-2 spread another trip or two.If you are in it for the long haul,then a few live practice sessions won't matter.Practicing at home doesn't prepare you for the over friendly booze hound who wants to tell you his life story,and how to play your hands while he's losing his shirt.The ditzy ploppie who needs a table consenus on every move,the hot hooker who keeps walking by,and the dealer who sweeps the cards like a Hoover.

If you have a really good memory you will learn to count really fast you could even learn it in less than a day. Can you go through a shuffled deck of 52 card deck look at 51 cards one at and tell me what the 52 card is with any kind of accuracy? If you can do that in 30 seconds to a minute counting cards will be no problem for you. Me personally their is no way that I can do that. Yet I have been kicked out of two casinos for being an advantage player.

Steps to learning card counting play difficult mode 10 times and get a 100 percent correct moves on all ten times. If you do have an hour have it be for doubling a soft hand and the thing pops up and says that there is no general rule for it. That is not a mistake in your blackjack decisons just a bug in the program. But count every other mistake that you make when you get down to zero you are ready to start counting.

The count that I like to use is the high low count it goes like this. 2,3,4,5,6 when they are played count as plus 1, 7,8,9 count as zero, and 10, Ace count as negative one. The best way to learn to count is two no what the total of the 2-7 cards that you have. On the top of the new deck heads up with the dealer you are dealt 2 5's in your hand and the dealer is showing a 9 the count at this moment is plus two. You turn over your 5's double down and get an ace. The dealer than turns over a 6 hits a ten and busts...Where is the count on the start of the next hand?

On the next hand you are dealt a 10 and an 8 and the dealer is showing a ten he flips over a 7 and stays. Where is the count now?

On the hand after that you are dealt 10,10 the dealer shows a 6 flips over a 4 and hits a 10 makes 20 and stays. You have to know where the count is at all times to be succesful.If you can answer this question in ten seconds or less you are ready to start learning how to count.

The next thing that you will need to know is how to bet your hands when the count is positive or negative. The way that I approach betting is to bet my personal low bet when the count is at plus 1 or below say a $5 bet my high bet at plus 2 and above say $10. A count of plus one gives you an almost dead even gamble so it is not worth betting more because you will not get a lot out of it. The count that I explained only works on a single deck game. If you are playing on a double deck game to get the true count you have to know about how many cards are left in the deck say you have gone thorugh 26 cards in the deck and you have count of plus for your true count is plus 4/ 1 1/2 or 2.66. If you take up counting start with the single decks where the counts are more straight forward.

One very important thing you have to remember is just because the count is in your favor you aren't going to win all the time in fact you might even lose 3 or 4 big bets in a row with a positive count. Please do not let the way that a couple of hands that didn't turn out the way that you planned effect how you play. You should look at your results after a 100 hands of play and if you are a good counter your results showed look something like this on your big bets you win 50 hands and get 7 blackjacks. and you lose 50 hands. For a profit of $35!!! But on your small bet you win 47 get 4 blackjacks and lose 53 hands. For a loss of $20. If you take your loss from your profit you have made $15!!! Or 3 units $5*3=$15!!!